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Yeah it looks like a bad one alright. And New Orleans is being evacuated again.. fingers crossed that the levees hold out. I notice that the people displaced from NO are being moved even further inland.

Man, I'm glad we don't get those things over here. I don't know how you can live with them!

Took me 2.5 hours to make the 20 miles home from work tonight. The roads are clogged and gas stations are running out of gas. Some gas stations the lines are running into the street. There are no hotel rooms for 200 miles around. The next few days should be interesting to say the least.

Safe travel and prayers to our fellow ABWers in the path of this storm.

Here I am worrying about $5 a gallon gas and you all are worrying about how to get out of town while leaving most of your belongings behind you. I really can't imagine the stress this must be for you all.

Here are three snippets from a Yahoo article, which combined form a pretty scary story:

"the storm surge from Rita could reach 50 feet."

"Galveston, a city of 58,000 on a coastal island 8 feet above sea level"

"Jennifer McDonald in Galveston plans to ride Rita out. She and her husband have enough food and water to last 10 days in their wooden house. If it gets really bad, the couple will take to the roof."

I sure hope that these people change their mind, or that they're forcibly evacuated, or that the storm surge isn't as bad as predicted. Another place is saying to expect a 22 foot surge. They have a 17 foot seawall. They won't have a problem with the bowl effect like New Orleans, but it still sounds like it could be pretty devastating.

My prayers are will all that are affected. I have an Aunt and Uncle in Houston that are planning to "ride it out". It's hard for me to not yell at them after everything we've seen in New Orleans and the surrounding areas. They are so stubborn, and I'm scared.

It seems that, although it is still a category 5 at this point, it is losing steam a little bit. I am just hoping that by the time it is supposed to reach land fall it will be less threatening. {sigh}

Ebudae brought up an important point...if you had to get out of the area in a hurry are you familiar with back roads that can take you miles and miles away, north, south east and west? Good thing to know.

You need three kinds of maps in your car: a county-wide street map, a state road map and a regional road map that includes at least several states. A US road map is a good idea, too.

Hope your family will be safe BrattyKitty. My sis and her family are in Houston and are staying. If I could reach out and touch over the Internet, I'd knock some sense into her. It's frustrating to say the least.

We started getting the first bit a rain early this evening in Baton Rouge already. This really is a very large storm.

I snipped the parts that gave me the chills. Kellie, perhaps this will help your sister understand. I know it helped me and I've never been in anything worse than a Cat3. Whatever she decides to do I hope she and her family will be fine.

STRUCTURAL DAMAGE: HOUSES OF POOR TO AVERAGE CONSTRUCTION WILL BE DESTROYED OR SEVERELY DAMAGED. MODERATE TO MAJOR DAMAGE OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOUSES WILL INCLUDE FAILURE OF UP TO ONE HALF OF ALL GABLED ROOFS. IN ADDITION....UP TO ONE QUARTER OF EXTERIOR WALLS WILL FAIL.

ALUMINUM AND LIGHT WEIGHT STEEL ROOFS WILL BE TORN OFF BUILDINGS AT INDUSTRIAL PARKS. PARTIAL ROOF AND EXTERIOR WALL FAILURES ARE LIKELY AT LOW RISE APARTMENT BUILDINGS...ESPECIALLY THOSE OF POOR TO AVERAGE CONSTRUCTION. MOST WINDOWS IN HIGH RISE OFFICE BUILDINGS WILL BE BLOWN OUT...WITH OTHER MINOR TO MODERATE DAMAGE POSSIBLE DUE TO SWAYING.

AIRBORNE DEBRIS OF LIGHT TO MODERATE WEIGHT WILL CAUSE ADDITIONAL MAJOR DAMAGE...AS WELL AS INJURIES AND A FEW FATALITIES.
NEAR TOTAL POWER LOSS IS EXPECTED. UP TO ONE HALF OF ALL POWER POLES WILL BE KNOCKED DOWN...AND HUNDREDS OF TRANSFORMERS WILL POP. THE AVAILABILITY OF POTABLE WATER WILL BE DIMINISHED AS FILTRATION SYSTEMS BEGIN TO FAIL.

NATURAL DAMAGE: THOUSANDS OF TREES WILL BE SEVERELY DAMAGED. UP TO THREE QUARTERS OF ALL HEALTHY SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZED TREES WILL SNAP OR BE UPROOTED... MOST COMMON ON SATURATED GROUND. UP TO ONE HALF OF HEALTHY LARGE TREES WILL SNAP OR BE UPROOTED. SEVERE DAMAGE IS EXPECTED TO CITRUS ORCHARDS...SOME ORCHARDS MAY BE DESTROYED. MOST NEWLY PLANTED GROUND CROPS WILL BE WIPED OUT. LIVESTOCK LEFT OUTSIDE WILL BE INJURED... SOME CRITICALLY. A FEW LIVESTOCK DEATHS ARE LIKELY.

FOR SUSTAINED WIND 110 TO 130 MPH WITH GUSTS 140 MPH OR MORE:
CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE EXPECTED TO MAN MADE AND NATURAL STRUCTURES!

HOUSES OF POOR TO AVERAGE CONSTRUCTION WILL BE SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO ROOF AND WALLS. DESTRUCTION MAY OCCUR TO HOMES WITH GABLED ROOFS... WITH THE WIND LIFTING THEM OFF. MORE THAN HALF OF ALL INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED...OTHERS WILL HAVE PARTIAL ROOF AND WALL DAMAGE. WOOD FRAMED GARDEN APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED...AND OTHERS WILL HAVE PARTIAL ROOF AND WALL FAILURES.

HIGH RISE OFFICE BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY. MOST WINDOWS WILL BE BLOWN OUT...AND MODERATE STRUCTURAL DAMAGE IS POSSIBLE.
AIRBORNE DEBRIS...SOME PIECES GREATER THAN 50 POUNDS...WILL CAUSE EXTENSIVE DAMAGE. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE WINDS ARE AT GREAT RISK FOR INJURY OR DEATH.\N\N ELECTRICITY AND WATER WILL BE UNAVAILABLE FOR DAYS...AND PERHAPS WEEKS...AFTER THE STORM PASSES. THE MAJORITY OF TREES WILL BE SNAPPED AND UPROOTED. LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE CRITICALLY INJURED OR KILLED.

PERSONS IN THE REGION SHOULD TAKE ACTION TO SECURE TRASH CANS...LAWN FURNITURE...AND OTHER LOOSE OR LIGHTWEIGHT OUTDOOR OBJECTS. HIGH WINDS CAN TOPPLE TREES...BLOW WEAKENED ROOFS OFF HOUSES...AND DOWN POWER LINES.

HURRICANE RITA IS COMPARABLE TO HURRICANE CARLA OF 1961...THE LAST DESTRUCTIVE CATEGORY 4 STORM TO HIT THE UPPER TEXAS COAST

Looks like the choices are to get out.. or get to a shelter. There is no way you want to be in the path of this. This is no time for Texan stubborness!

Hurricanes do tend to drop off in terms of severity quickly once they hit land, but that thing it heading straight to Houston across the water. As for Galveston.. well, the BBC painted a grim picture about what's going to happen to THAT place.